The Zanpakuto Hero
by Thirok
Summary: The Waves were coming and the Countries were trying to come up with a plan to fight against them. However time was running out before the first Wave and no action had yet to be taken. Siltvelt, intent on summoning a Hero before the First Wave, they summoned one like no other. The Zanpakuto Hero. (Inspired from the Fifth Hero, Author Alpine992)
1. Chapter 1

The van pulled to a stop just outside the Kurosaki residence. Ichigo glanced from the window, looking to see that the main hall light had been left on for him. He had called home earlier to let Yuzu know that he wouldn't need dinner as he would be working late with Ikumi. No doubt either Yuzu or Karin had tried to wait up for him, for some reason they always wanted to make sure he made it home safe.

"Good work today Ichigo." Ikumi spoke up as Ichigo glanced over her, the days work had certainly taken its toll on the woman. Bags under her eyes, they'd been working before the sun came up and were returning home close to midnight, unlike him she didn't exactly have a 'youthful' stamina. He had to wonder why he still worked with Ikumi, the pay wasn't great the hours were atrocious. Mostly, it was just to fill in time.

"You going to be able to make it home okay?" Ichigo questioned.

"Yeah." She nodded her head glancing at him. "I've got to let the babysitter off." Kaoru was no doubt long asleep by now.

"I told you, I can get Yuzu or Karin to watch Kaoru, save you some money if we're going to be working late." Ichigo told her, Yuzu was the one who had actually offered to watch Kaoru but Ikumi was to hard headed to accept Yuzu's kindness. A fist came swinging at Ichigo and stopped short an inch from impacting him. Ichigo blinked, not having expected a punch to be thrown nor for it not to hit, usually the woman wasn't so reserved and smack him when she wanted too. However Ikumi flicked out a finger smacking him in the forehead.

"Stop worry about adult things." She lectured him. "Now go on, get to bed. I shouldn't have kept you out this late." Ichigo shrugged and opened the van door and slid out, the electric window sliding down as he closed the door. "Take the day off tomorrow."

"The job's still not finished." Ichigo tried to say.

"And it's not going to be finished if I've got a half dead zombie lumbering around." She argued back. "I'm the boss, you do what I say."

"Yes boss." Ichigo droned as Ikumi smirked, shifted the gear from park into drive Ichigo taking a step back as Ikumi gave him one final nod before driving off down the road. Ichigo ran a hand through his hair, watching as Ikumi's van turned and was out of sight. Turning to the house he headed in through the gate fishing his keys from his pocket. Unlocking the front door he slipped his shoes off in the entryway.

He wasn't the least bit exhausted, even after a full day's work his seemingly supernatural stamina was still off the charts. Ever since his days as a Shinigami, he had kept numerous aspects from his former extracurricular activities. While not as strong, he was still leagues above a normal human. His reaction time far exceeded normal expectations. Even his stamina seemed to have no limits.

After training, fighting and dealing with everything as a Shinigami, his human body had been tuned by everything he had experienced. While not on the same level as even an unseated officer, his current abilities far exceeded that of a human. Not that he was any match for someone like Chad, his closest friend after all was still intuned with the spiritual side of things.

"I'm home." Ichigo breathed out to the silent house. He stood in the entrance for a few moments, listening to the silence seeing if anything felt off. But his instincts didn't pick up on a dumbass old man trying to sneak up on him so he figured there wouldn't be a Father-Son bonding fight this evening. Which was honestly a relief for the teen.

It had just been over a year since the defeat of Aizen and the inevitable loss of his Shinigami powers. He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss it all. But he was a human, a normal one at that. Something he had longed for, for so long. He still had his friends, they had been through so much and he could have lost them, and so much more but they were all still with him. He didn't need to hide anything anymore, he no longer felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He wasn't burdened by a responsibility far outreaching his age.

He'd come out victorious in the end and when all was said and done, that's all that truly mattered. If it was some kind of manga, the story would have ended there but this was reality and life went on. He had to live with the decision he made in the final battle to use the Final Getsuga, he knew the cost and he had accepted that. He was living with the choice he made.

Walking down the hall he glanced out into the living room and stopped for a moment before sighing. Curled up on the couch beneath a blanket was Yuzu, having tried to stay up to welcome him home. Walking across the living room, he crouched down next to the couch and smiled softly. Yuzu was snuggled into the couch, a book resting on the couch that she had obviously been reading.

Grabbing the book he glanced over it. The cover looked old, bound in a red leather. The title of the book was clearly written on it's cover.

'_The Records of the Four Cardinal Weapons'_

Ichigo smiled softly, wasn't Yuzu getting a little too old to be reading stories of Heros? Flicking open the first page he read the general summary.

'_To save the world from the Apocalyptic Waves, the people would call fourth heroes from another world to come and save them.'_

"Kinda cliche if you ask me." Ichigo muttered softly, closing the book.

"Ichigo?" Yuzu's voice brought him back to reality as he looked down at Yuzu now staring up at him with a sleepy look on her face, gently raising one hand to rub at her eye. "Welcome home." She smiled softly. Before Ichigo used the book to lightly bonk her atop the head making her pout up at him.

"What are you doing down here? You should be in bed." Ichigo told her as Yuzu sat up, yawning cutely as she stretched her arms out.

"I was reading." She told him.

"Uh huh." He sighed. "Bed. Now." He told her getting another pout from her as she raised up from the couch, Ichigo standing up and placing a hand atop her head. "You don't need to wait up for me if I'm going to be this late, Yuzu."

"I know." Yuzu smiled.

"Here." He offered her the book that she had been reading.

"You keep it. Good night Ichigo." She told him as she walked off to the stairs to head to bed. Ichigo shrugged and sat on the couch, not tired enough to go to bed he figured he'd waste some time before heading upstairs. Flicking opened the book Ichigo began to read… he could understand why Yuzu passed it off onto him.. It was a fairly generic story, you could almost tell what was going to happen next.

Eventually Ichigo just began to skim through the story.

The four heroes went on a journey to train, gather strength, perfect themselves, and stop the prophesied destruction of the world.

He had to raise an eyebrow as he caught mention of a princess, one you'd usually expected to be humble and innocent was manipulative and obsessed with the heroes to the point of obsession. She kept casting flirtatious glances at all of them, pitting them against each other. Obviously there was something deeper there.

Continuing on he found chapters dedicated to each of the heros.

The Sword Hero was active and powerful; the Spear Hero valued and protected his friends, and the Bow Hero would never tolerate injustice. All the heroes were good people with great personalities. Something you'd never find in the youth of today should they be summoned to another world. Eventually he came to the point of the Shield Hero, the Hero that had yet to be mentioned like the others. Figuring it might be interesting to see how the Shield Hero would survive he figured he'd read and find out.

However after turning to the page to read the chapter… nothing but blank pages were left. Blinking he double checked, flicking through the remaining pages but nothing, it was like the book hadn't even been finished yet. Sighing he sat back, feeling slightly drained… had he actually been a more invested in it than he originally thought?

"Might as well just go to bed." He muttered, however as he went to stand up a wave of dizziness overcame him and he slumped back down into the couch. Gritting his teeth he reached out for anything, but slowly his vision turned black as unconsciousness claimed him.

* * *

**Shield Hero…. Processing….**

**Denied.**

**Spear Hero…. Processing….**

**Denied**

**Bow Hero…. Processing…. Processing….**

**Denied.**

**Sword Hero…. Processing…. Processing…. Processing….**

**Denied. **

**Cardinal Hero System not Achieved. Searching…. Searching…. Searching….**

**Unique System Request.**

**Processing…. Processing…. Processing…. Processing…. Processing…. **

**Granted. **

**Creating Unique System...**

**Completed.**

**Zanpakuto Hero Class Created.**

**Processing…. Processing…. Processing…. Processing….**

**Granted. **

**Activiating….**

* * *

Ichigo blinked rapidly, the dizziness he had suffered from no longer affecting him. It didn't even feel like he had been unconscious. Now here he was, standing on his feet and certainly not in his living room where he had been moments prior. Ichigo now stood in a vast chamber. The entire room was constructed of gleaming white stone that seemed smooth to the touch. Marble, possibly. Massive pillars with sculptures carved into them rose up to the towering domed ceiling. The room resembled some sort of grand cathedral and he stood upon an alter.

Casting his gaze around the large room, he spotted numerous robed individuals, all of their faces hidden as they knelt down on one knee with their heads bowed. What the hell just happened? He'd been reading that books and now….

"Welcome Hero." A voice echoed as one of the robed people rose up. Ichigo casting his gaze to the man. Hero? What the hell. However as he shifted, he felt something off… or more so, vaguely familiar. While dressed in the clothes that he had come home from work. White Pants, black undershirt and white jacket and the socks he wore, not even a pair of shoes considering he had taken them off… there was something on him that hadn't been prior.

Crossover over his chest with a thick strap that came over his right shoulder. It was connected to an oversized brown sheath hung by the strap. Instinctively he reached up and his hand met the hilt of the sword in the sheath. Eyes widened as his hand wrapped around the hilt, before he pulled the blade from its scabbard in a single swift motion.

It was just as he remembered it, it had a rectangular bronze tsuba with gently inward-curved edges, a stylized flame pattern on the long sides, and a simple decorative slit on the short sides. The hilt's handle had a red wrapping and two light blue tassels attached to the handle's base, which was decorated with a flame design on its short sides.

It was the same Zanpakuto he had ever set his hands upon, the sword that he had started his journey as a Shinigami with. He hadn't seen it since Byakuya had destroyed it and he had unlocked his Shikai. Why did he have it here? Now. What the hell was going on!?

"What the hell is going on!?" Ichigo shouted, voicing his own thoughts demanding an answer of the robed assholes currently looking up at him.

"Please Sir Hero, there is no need to be angered." The robed man that had spoken earlier spoke once more. "If you would come with us, everything will be explained." Ichigo grit his teeth, Zanpakuto in hand and no explanation as to what the hell was going on… wait, he just called him a hero, right?

"_You've got to be joking."_ Ichigo grimaced, recalling the very summary of the book that he had been reading before this whole mess had happened. Did ... was he… for fucks sake. Slapping a hand to his face he dragged it down, averting his eyes upwards. How the hell did he get himself into these messes?

"Sir Hero?" The man questioned as Ichigo sighed… might as well play along, it was the only way he was going to find a way to get home. Walking down the steps that led up to the altar he approached the robed man.

"Lead the way." He spoke, setting his familiar scowl in place as he sheathed his Zanpakuto. The robed man nodded and hurried along, the doors to the cathedral opening as the man led him through what looked to be a palace, or what Ichigo assumed to be one. Before long they reached a massive set of doors. Ichigo was more surprised by the beast like creatures standing either side of it as guards. They resembled Karasu-Tengu like japanese folk tales. Bird-like men with black wings and crow heads, dressed like mountain hermits.

From what he gathered from the book, what he had read… wasn't the kingdom a more western one. So why was this one having a Japanese feel to it? The Karasu-Tengu guards opened the doors revealing the expansive room within. Immediately the sounds or arguing could be heard.

"We were supposed to summon the Shield Hero, not the sword!" A man's voice, enraged by the events of Ichigo's summons it looked like. If Ichigo was being totally honest… he didn't think he was the Sword Hero… or any of the Four Cardinal Heros. How would that explain the Zanpakuto? While primarily a sword, that wasn't all there was to it. He had a nagging feeling something wasn't right.

The robed man took a step to the side allowing Ichigo entry to the grand hall, the teen walking forward gaining the attention of the five in the room.

Ichigo's attention first focused on the one with clear hostility towards him, an elderly man with long white hair tied into a ponytail and a long white beard and his small round glasses hid his eyes, Ichigo should have been surprised to find the trails of animals with a tail and ears. But he wasn't. Despite his age, it was clear that the man was muscular beneath his kimono.

Ichigo's eyes moved from him to the next and he had to blink in surprise. The man was not human in any sense of the word, not like the others. He was a turtle through and through and looked considerably aged. He was bipedal, standing on two legs and had a green sash across his chest that wraps around and nearly covers the back of his shell. This sash is held together by a ring, and the back bears a large, stylized design that is meant to be a tai chi diagram of fish forming the yin yang his hand was a walking stick.

Once more he moved along, this time to the smallest of the group. A petite, teenage girl. She had purple eyes and long silvered hair. She wore an open black coat with purple accents and big, white cuffs along with a white undershirt that shows her midsection, black shorts with a small, white belt, pink stockings that go up to the middle of her thighs, and thick, knee-high brown boots. Like the previous two she had animal traits, a pair of white feline ears with black markings and a similar design in tail… a white tiger?

Onto the next. A bewitchingly beautiful young woman with long eyelashes, snow white smooth skin, ruby color eyes, luscious lips, beautiful slender legs, a remarkable large bust, a well curvy figure, and long horns atop her head. She has waist length pink hair with a silver shine. She wore a light colored dress resembling a robe of some sort.

Then finally onto the last who looked to be the leader among the group. A young woman with a voluptuous figure and very long blonde hair with matching eyes. Delicate facial features and her eyebrows are cut very short. Her hair was tied in a loose ponytail, reaching all the way down to her legs that ends in a spiral, with taut bandages to keep it in place.

Her attire consisted of a yellow kimono, a golden obi, and wore a black pelt, with gold skulls and lines printed on it. The kimono features a white interior and it is open at her shoulders, giving view to her enormously large breasts. Her hair was held back by a traditional hair ornament, with six golden bira kanzashi and several red kanzashi. What stood out the most were the nine golden fox tails behind her.

Ichigo stood several meters from the group, who were now all staring at him and the teen was beginning to become irritated.

"Sir Hero." It was the leader of the group, the blonde woman that spoke first. He did his best to keep his eyes level with hers, no need for wandering eyes. "We welcome you to Siltvelt." She bowed her head slightly, the others following in suit, all but the white haired old man that seemed to have a grudge against him because he wasn't the Shield Hero.

"I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo introduced himself as the others raised their heads. "There's been a mistake." Shocked looks came over the faces of the ones before him. "I'm no Hero."

"This is outrageous!" The elderly man turned. "You forced our hand! Forced us to summon a Hero while the others squabble on what to do about the Waves! This is the result of such impatience!"

"That is enough! Ino!" The woman barked at him, anger showing on her face. "I will not have you disrespect this decision further, it was a unanimous decision that we summon a Hero before the first Wave arrived." It seemed to the teen that there was some animosity in this country's governing factions. The elderly man, Ino grit his teeth before turning and marching out of the chamber by a side entrance.

"Not a Hero you say." The turtle spoke as he approached Ichigo, the teen glancing down at him awkwardly. He'd done some weird stuff in his life but talk to a turtle was not one of them. "How do you know this?" Ichigo blinked at the sudden question. "The summons wouldn't have brought you here, if you weren't a Hero."

"Oogway is correct." The dragon lady with pink hair smirked at Ichigo. "The summoning wouldn't have been successful if you weren't someone that could combat the Waves." She concluded.

"By the weapon you have, can we assume you to be the Sword Hero?" The turtle, or Oogway questioned the teen.

"There's one way to find out." The youngest, or in Ichigo's experience considering Toshiro, the one that looked to be the youngest spoke up next approaching him. "There's no need for guessing games, his Status will reveal what's true and not."

"Correct as always, Zero." The Dragon like lady commented, the Turtle, Tiger girl and the Dragon lady all looking at him for confirmation.

"Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about." Ichigo sighed.

"It's called Status Magic, and I can assure you, you have it." Zero commented, her tail twitching behind her. "Don't think to say that you don't, you'd be imply I was unable to cast such a simple spell." Seeing the look on Ichigo's face she sighed. "In your peripheral vision? Any weird symbols that you're not accustomed too?" She questioned.

Ichigo blinked before focusing on his vision, to see if there was anything out of the ordinary and… just as she had claimed, there were weird symbols that shouldn't be there.

"Just focus on them." Zero told him and as Ichigo did so, a soft chime echoed in his ears before what looked like a popup screen invaded his vision. "Now Tell us exactly what it says."

**Ichigo Kurosaki**

**Class: Zanpakuto Hero LV 1 **

**Equipment: [Zanpakuto [Zangetsu Sealed] (Unknown Weapon)] [Other-World Clothes]**

**Skills: [None]**

**Magic: [None]**

**Soul Trait: [Locked]**

Ichigo repeated everything he saw on the popup screen, bar the name of his Zanpakuto. That information wouldn't be needed for them. Confirming that the weapon on his back wasn't just some ordinary sword, that it was a Zanpakuto. This also proved that he wasn't one of the Four Cardinal Hero's that they thought they had summoned. Stopping his focus on the popup it finished giving him a clear view of the room again, only to see a mixed array of emotions.

The turtle, looked to be in deep thought at what had been revealed. Processing it in his mind.

The Tiger girl looked to be disappointed, as if the old man that had left had been right. That they had failed.

The Dragon lady as Ichigo had taken to calling her looked curious, probably never having heard of a Zanpakuto before.

Ichigo's eyes landed on the leader, the nine tailed fox woman. She simply held a smile on her features as she watched him. Ichigo's eyes locked with hers and she began to approach, passing by the other three and once more bowing, however this time more deeply than earlier.

"Once more we welcome you, Hero." She began lifting her head. "My name is Yasaka, Queen of Siltvelt." She greeted rising back up. "The ones that stand here with me today are three of the four major factions of Siltvelt. Each a representative of their race." The Dragon Lady stepped forward and bowed like Yasaka had.

"I am Navi, the representative of the Aotatsu." She introduced herself formally. "The Aotatsu are at your service, Hero."

"I am the representative of the Genmu, Oogway." The turtle went next. "I am eager to see a hero at work."

"I'm Zero, the Hakuko representative and Siltvelts top magic user." The Tiger girl told him as she folded her arms. "No doubt we'll work together in the future."

"The one who left earlier was Ino, the representative of the Shusaku race. I do apologise for the display earlier." Yasaka apologised to him. A tense silence filled the room as Ichigo looked over them all, it was clear that they were looking to him to save their world, to fight against these waves. Raising a hand he rubbed his eyes, trying to think everything through.

"I have one question." Ichigo began looking to Yasaka. "Can you send me home?" He asked.

"It is possible." She confirmed. "But not until the Waves of Calamity have been subdued." She confirmed causing Ichigo to sigh. This meant he was stuck here and if he wanted to get home he would have to work for it. Fighting these Waves. This was not how he expected to end his day. Raising a hand he rested on the hilt of his Zanpakuto, a small smile coming to his face… he didn't realise how much he had missed the weight of Zangetsu until now.

"When's the first Wave?"

* * *

**I used Characters from other series to make up the leadership of Siltvelt and will probably use other characters to make up Ichigo's future party. **

**Yasaka (Highschool DxD)**

**Navi (Dragonar Academy)**

**Oogway (Kung Fu Panda)**

**Zero (Grimoire of Zero) with added feline features.**

**Ino (No Game No Life)**


	2. Chapter 2

Ichigo stood before the towering hourglass in awe. It was something to behold, all the while the grains of red sand trickled down. When he had asked when the Wave would arrive, Yasaka had led him here with Oogawy following, the others going off to do their own thing. Seemingly only present to greet the summoned Hero.

The Hour Glass itself stood well over seven meters tall, towering over everything else. It was covered in detailed decorations that caused the object to have some kind of mystical feel to it. Ichigo could almost feel a sense of foreboding come from it.

"Please, approach the hour glass." Yasaka instructed and Ichigo did, walking up the steps. The closer he got the more aware of it's strange presence gnawed at him. Taking another step his eyes shot wide as a high pitched beep echoed in his ears before a beam from the hilt of his Zanpakuto shot forth toward the hourglass where a jewel was located that illuminated brightly upon being hit with the beam. After the shock passed Ichigo noticed something in the right hand corner of his vision, a timer of some kind?

**4 - 21:39**

Ichigo watched it for a moment and soon the **[39]** turned to **[38]** showing that it was counting down, and if he was right the **[4]** was how many days were left. Meaning there wasn't a lot of time before the first wave came. His status appeared before him and he lightly glared at the **[LV 1]** next to his Class. He figured after everything he had been through it would be at a higher level, but it seemed that being summoned here just reset all his stats to zero. Well considering he had given up his powers he'd be at Zero. What would his level had been had he not?

_"No point thinking about that."_ Ichigo mused, deciding not to go down that path of what ifs. Turning to where Yasaka stood, the woman hadn't taken her eyes off of him for a moment. There was also Oogway who was quiet, seemingly observing for now. "Can I have a minute?" Ichigo questioned. "I just need to think things over."

"Of course." Yasaka bowed her head. "If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask. Once you're done, we'll discuss the next step." Ichigo nodded as both Yasaka and Oogway walked from the room, Ichigo noting that Yasaka made a slight hand gesture and several hidden robed figures also followed them out, probably ones to oversee the hour glass. At least with that, he knew he was alone and could trust that Yasaka would do as he asked when he needed something. Letting out a soft sigh he relaxed somewhat before cracking his neck.

"Alright." Turning back to the hourglass he reached up and pulled forth his Zanpakuto before sitting down before the hourglass, legs crossed. Resting the blade across his lap with his hands upon it, taking up the familiar position of Jinzen, he relaxed his mind reaching out as he once did when connecting with Zangetsu.

Feeling the pull he opened his eyes and was greeted with the Inner World that he had become so accustomed too over his time as a Shinigami. Looking around he tried to spot Zangetsu, surely the old man would be here right? He had his Zanpakuto once again, so why shouldn't his Zanpakuto spirit be present? Looking around there was no one, not a single entity apart from himself.

_"Damn…"_ He really thought that he might not have to go at this whole thing alone, to at least have the old man by his side to guide him like he once did. Hell, right now he'd even accept the hollow imitation of himself. About to leave his inner world he paused, seeing an icon blinking in the lower left hand side of his vision. It was apart of the Status Magic and it hadn't been blinking before coming here. It was going to take some time before he got used to this whole status thing.

Focusing on the blinking icon, expecting another pop up to fill his vision. Instead, it was his inner world that completely changed around him. It was like the Status Magic was completely re-warping his innerworld.

**[Weapon Tree]**

A pop-up filled his vision causing him to blink in confusion, not exactly sure what it was supposed to mean. Willing it to disappear, it cleared from his sight and he got a proper look of the new layout of his innerworld.

It was way too weird.

Hovering before him, illuminated by an unknown source of light was the same sword he currently held in his hands in reality. Between himself and the sword, there was a line drawn on the ground with a luminescent glow. Taking a few steps forward towards the blade, he saw a pop-up window appear over the blade.

**[Zanpakuto [Zangetsu Sealed]**

**[LV 1]**

**[Zanpakutō are the trademark weapons of the Shinigami.]**

Ichigo stopped focusing on the pop-up and it shrunk back into the blade. It was definitely Zangetsu, so where was the old man? Or maybe the spirit just wasn't present? Glancing behind the illuminated sword, he could make out something in the darkness. Stepping around the sword, he saw two more branching away, but weren't illuminated. But he could tell by the shapes exactly what they were, even in the darkness.

The first was an oversized khyber knife that he was all too familiar with. The weapon he had stormed Soul Society with after his training with Urahara to regain his Soul Reaper powers. It was the unsealed version of Zangetsu, the Shikai. The other one next to it was just as Familiar, Tensa Zangetsu. Approaching the the shadowed blades, two more pop-ups came, however this time different.

**[Level Requirement not Met]**

It appeared over both of the shadowed blades. He should have known, this was all working like a game. He was **[LVL 1]**, there was no way that he'd be given shikai and bankai right off from the get go. He'd have to work his way up to them. Grinning slightly to himself, if he was going to be in another world, at least he had his partner with him. Casting a gaze off over the rest of the darkness… wasn't it a bit of wasted effort in re-creating his entire inner world for just this?

"Eh…" Ichigo had to blink as his eye caught something in the darkness. Walking quickly over to what he had seen he stopped upon seeing another shadowed blade, just a simple katana this time. Eyes widening he hurried to the blades after it and stopped. "You've got to be kidding me." He muttered as he immediately recognised Zabimaru's Shikai and it's enormous Bankai.

Taking a step back in shock he looked around once more… just like here there were more swords, more familiar Shikai's and Bankai's… swallowing nervously he stood amidst the mass armoury of Zanpakuto's. Is this what it meant to be the Zanpakuto Hero? Access to all of the Zanpakuto that the Shinigami wielded?

A hand landed on his shoulder and his eyes shot wide open.

"Get stronger." Zangetsu's voice reached him and as he turned back around to look, he was back in reality, sitting cross legged before the Dragon Hourglass.

"Well… shit." Ichigo breathed out. "That's a lot to take in." He muttered as he picked up his Zanpakuto and rose to his feet, sliding the blade back into the sheath along his back. "You're right Zangetsu, I need to get stronger here. It's my only way of making it home."

* * *

Ichigo shifted his shoulders awkwardly. All throughout his time as a Shinigami, he wore a Shihakusho. He was honestly expecting to just adorn one that fit the description of his old battle attire. However, upon hearing his request, Yasaka had deemed it unsuitable and had issued him a set of armour. It was big, clunky and didn't fit well.

True, there were numerous cases as a Shinigami that the Shihakusho would have been better suited as something more armored but really, defense relied on one's own reiatsu so armor would be pointless. But this armor was uncomfortable, hot and just all around irritating to the teen. It was also taxing on his maneuverability. Plus the time to put it on was just unforgivable. He couldn't continue to wear this if he was planning on being effective in battle. Atleast Yasaka had agreed to introduce him to a Blacksmith so he could get proper equipment before the Wave started.

Currently Ichigo was outside the Capital of Siltvelt. Away from the onlookers that had been eager to meet the Hero that had been summoned. Apparently word had spread around Siltvelt that a Hero had been summoned. He didn't like the fact that he was the cause of such uproar, as not everyone in the country was happy that he wasn't the Shield Hero. Apparently it wasn't just Ino that expected to have the Shield Hero summoned for them.

Not to mention there seemed to be discrimination against humans in Siltvelt. It was a country populated by Demi-humans and the only humans that he had seen… were slaves. He knew he wasn't from this world, that they had to have different standards to different things. But it didn't sit right with him and made anger swell deep within him at the very sight. But what could he do about it? Who knows how long slavery had been acceptable here and if he did change anything while here, wouldn't it just go back to the way that it was before once he left? He was conflicted on what to do and had been taking his anger out on the monsters that he came across.

Speaking of which.

Brandishing his Zanpakuto, he rose it above his head and sliced through the orange balloon that had been approaching him. Man these things were weird, popping on impact and turning into shreds of orange material.

**[EXP 1]**

This whole status thing was starting to bug him. It took the reality out of the situation. Making it feel like a game when it was clearly not. Zero had cast the Status Magic on him when he arrived, but apparently everyone in this world had access to the same type of status.

If others were being summoned, and they saw that it was like a Game, how would they treat it? Would they think of it as reality, or would they treat it like a game where their consequences didn't matter? They could have a real negative impact on this world if they saw it that way. Resting his Zanpakuto on his shoulder her took a glance around the grassy plains, the imposing capital of Siltvelt off in the distance.

He was glad for the solidarity. He had been told that others would be gathered for him to choose his party from. He didn't like the idea to be honest. Here he was to be thrusted into a group of people he may not get along with and was expected to fight alongside them? No doubt issues would arise in the group. He knew that a party would be better to fight the Waves, a larger group to rescue others, fight off the monsters and bring the Wave quickly to an end. But he didn't know these people, half of the ones he had met so far didn't like him because he was human.

"Cross that bridge when I come to it." Ichigo sighed as he brought up his Status, he had been at this a while.

**Ichigo Kurosaki**

**Class: Zanpakuto Hero LV 8**

**Equipment: [Zanpakuto [Zangetsu Sealed] (Unknown Weapon)] [Heavy Armour]**

**Skills: [None]**

**Magic: [None]**

**Soul Trait: [Locked]**

He'd gone up a couple of levels at least, but still he hadn't reached the required level to achieve Shikai, and he didn't know if there would be any other requirements to unlock the Shikai either.

Sheathing his Zanpakuto, seeing as the afternoon was dwindling, he'd make it back to the Capital just before dark.

The trek back was mostly uneventful, facing a few more monsters but not enough to Level up again. The monsters around the Capital were small fries and didn't offer much in the way of Experience points. He'd have to venture further to do so serious leveling, and right now there wasn't much time before the first Wave. He'd have to make due until after.

"Hero!" A voice called out to him making him look over to see what appeared to be a young girl, but Ichigo knew better than to judge by appearance alone. Toshiro was a fine example of that.

"You're Sylvie, right?" He asked, having been introduced to her before he went leveling. She led the Adventures guild here in the Capital. Like most in Siltvelt, she was a demi human the rabbit ears and tail a dead give away. She has short red hair and unfortunately, her outfit left little to the imagination. From what Ichigo had seen so far, it was a custom among certain races, or at least they didn't care much about what they wear or how much skin showed.

Her outfit was mostly a thin layer of cloth that exposes her belly button with some ornate ornaments. Around her waist looked to be a long white loin cloth with large green gems on her hips keeping the fabric together.

"That's right, you remembered." Sylvie smiled at him. "Woah, looks like you increase your level a bit." She said eyeing him with a smile. "Good work. It seems like you really know what you're doing, should expect nothing less from a Hero."

"Can you stop calling me that." Ichigo sighed as the two walked in stride with one another through the streets. "It's hard to increase my level with so little time before the Wave starts."

"The fact you boosted your level that much is a testament that you're not just an average person." Syvlie commented. "Do you have prior combat experience or something?"

"Or something." Ichigo commented off handedly. Sylvie simply smiled and nodded.

"Yasaka reached out to the guild saying you were looking for a blacksmith." Sylvie continued, picking up that Ichigo wasn't going to speak on the matter about his past experiences any more. "So I thought I'd meet you at the Gate and take you there." Ichigo shifted his shoulders once more, the armour had really been troublesome.

"The sooner the better, with any luck the armor will be ready before the Wave hits."

"You've got that right." Sylvie nodded. "You really don't look comfortable in that suit of armor." Ichigo grimaced slightly, he'd never figure in a million years he'd wear one and it was clear that it didn't suit him. "I'm sure you'll find something, otherwise no doubt have it crafted to suit your tastes."

Sylvie led them through the maze like streets, Ichigo spotting numerous demi-humans around taking in the sight of a human passing by. The news of a Hero being summoned had certainly spread wide and far. Sylvie soon stopped and Ichigo paused… the door, it was massive. Ichigo stood 5'11… he knew Chad to be around 6'5 or so. But this door stood even taller than that.

_"Aren't blacksmiths in fantasy settings usually dwarves or something?"_ Ichigo pondered as the sound of someone hammering away within echoed in his ears. The building itself stood out, the other building nearby didn't nearly have such a large entrance, in fact the entire building looked to be built for someone of a larger size. Looking to Syvlie, she simply smiled and ushered him to enter.

"No doubt you'll head back to the palace after you're done. Do you think you can make it back on your own?" She questioned.

"I should be able to manage." Ichigo nodded, Syvlie took it as the okay to leave him alone and headed off. The teen figuring that as the head of the Adventures Guild she probably had a lot going on with the Wave coming up. Maybe she was organising Adventurers to aid in the rebelling of the Wave?

Turning back to the large entrance he thought about knocking, but figuring it was probably a store he didn't bother and pushed the door inwards. As soon as he entered he was hit with a massive heat, probably from the furnace that would be hard at work. Sweat already started to drip from his brow making the armour that was already too stuffy overbearing.

The front of the shop was what he expected, a store. Numerous kinds of armour and weapons lining the halls. Standing and looking around he didn't see anyone that he could talk with. Once more hearing the sound of something hammering against metal he called out.

"Hello?" For a moment there was a pause before the creak of a floorboard as someone shifted their weight. Ichigo had to guess that whoever was coming was going to be on the rather large side. Hearing footsteps, that certainly didn't sound human he waited for them. The blind covering the door that led to the back opened and Ichigo froze.

_"Naked Apron!"_ Was the first thought that shot through Ichigo's mind doing his best to stop the blood spurt from his nose before his next thought. _"Holy Cow!"_ The woman that came through with a smile on her face was huge, not in a robust way, just huge in general. She stood well over seven feet tall and everything was just as large to match.

She was darker skinned and had long flowing white hair with two massive bull horns adorning the top of her head. Despite the obvious a curvaceous body and large breasts that frankly put Lieutenant Matsumoto to shame, through the leather apron Ichigo could make out defined musculature features, even her arms had defined muscle texture.

"Hello there." She smiled down at him, the smile was genuine, the teen could tell that much. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you enter." Her cow ears twitched as she spoke. Now that he was passed first impressions, he could clearly see that she wasn't pulling the naked apron stunt, there was evidence of a cow print bikini behind the leather apron. But that just left the question of… why a bikini?

"The head of the Adventures Guild sent me." Ichigo spoke, doing his best to keep his eyes on hers. First Yasaka's body tempted his eyes now he had to deal with this? He wasn't a damn pervert!

"Sylvie?" She questioned. "I wonder why." She tapped her chin. "I figured with the Hero being summoned, she'd be busy dealing with that."

"I'm just after some armour." Ichigo said seeing as she might be a little bit inclined to be distracted by her own thought process. Her eyes turned him again, this time taking in his armour clad form.

"Yeah, that armour you have on now is ridiculous." She smiled. "It wasn't made for you, was it?" She questioned walking around him taking in the armour.

"Not in the slightest." Ichigo agreed, beginning to take it off the Minotaur helping him along, undoing the straps easing the process. Now that the heavy armour was off he felt so much better. Rolling his shoulders he watched as the Minotaur placed the pieces on a bench.

"It's not the best work, but it's not dodgy either." She explained. "It's suited for someone with a more built upper body." She continued.

"Think you can reforge it or something?" He asked as she lifted up the breast plate, just how strong was she, that thing weighed a ton and she lifted it like it was nothing.

"I can, but I won't." She told him surprising Ichigo at her refusal. He watched in astonishment as she turned to face him and with a smile on her face easily crushed the breastplate between both of her hands like it was nothing. "It'd be weaker than this if I did. If you reforge armour, again and again it loses its strength."

"Uh huh…" Chad might have even struggled in crushing something like that.

"I would like to make you some armour Mister, but I don't have that much materials left." She explained causing Ichigo to sigh.

"Let me guess." He began. "I'd have to go get you some."

"Yep." She smiled happily.

"And it's probably in a really dangerous place."

"Once again, you're right!"

"Oh, and you can't go because you've got something else to do." Ichigo knew what the hell a fetch quest was when he saw one!

"No, I'll be coming along." Ichigo stopped there, that was a first. "It'd be hard for you to carry it all the way back here, so you'll need help." She smiled. This might be worth it.

"How long to get there?" Ichigo asked, eyeing the countdown clock in the corner of his vision. Time was still something that was against him right now.

**4 - 15:18**

"If we leave now, we should get there by morning, with proper rests between so we're not already run ragged before entering the Labyrinth." She tapped her chin. "Another two to three hours after that to fight through some monsters and find the raw materials. Another two days to initially craft the armour." She finished.

"Meaning we should have enough time." Ichigo commented to himself. "You're sure you're okay with this?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "I wasn't doing anything but hammering my anvil." She told him causing him to blink, why would she be doing that? "I was bored." That answers that question.

"When can we leave?" Ichigo asked.

"Just let me gather some things." Ichigo nodded and headed for the exit of the shop. This seemed to be working out well so far. Sylvie wouldn't have brought him to her if she wasn't a blacksmith worth the time. Plus, heading to a Labyrinth with monsters, it might give him the experience he needed to level up a bit more. With any luck, he'd be stronger before the Wave hit with decent armor.

Leaning up against the side of the door, he stood out more now that he was dressed in what he had been summoned to this world and not covered in armour. The door to his side opened and he took a step to the side as the minotaur still ducked to exit through the door. Ichigo once more had to bring a hand to his nose, pinching ti to stop it from bleeding. The Minotaur still wore the cow print bikini, but now also wore bulky armor that covered her arms, shoulders, and legs and a helmet shaped like a bull's head with a golden nose ring. For some reason the armor was dyed a light pink.

However what made the armor useless in Ichigo's opinion was the lack of chest or stomach protection. However considering the size of her chest, it might be hard to find armor that was suited. In her hand was a pole connected to a giant hammer that she lifted with ease and rested it on her shoulder.

"All ready to go." She told him beginning to walk away from her shop before she stopped and looked back at him. "I'm Asterio." Ichigo's vision distorted as a pop-up appeared before him. "Let's form a Party."

"Yeah." Ichigo approved the pop-up notification, Asterio's name and Lv appearing just underneath his own status bar.

**Party Created**

**Asterio Lv 49 added to Party**

_"That's a massive gap in our levels."_ Ichigo mused to himself as they walked side by side, heading for the exit of the Capital, the same way Sylvia had walked him through the streets. The gap in level might be something, but it also proved that Asterio was strong. Meaning where they were going to find the materials for his armour, there would be strong monsters. He was definitely going to be stronger by the time the Wave came around, even if his armor wasn't ready he'd still be strong enough to get through it.

"I never introduced myself." He began. "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Uh huh." She nodded happily. No doubt, she also got the same notification as him upon the party's creation so the introduction was probably unnecessary but it hadn't sat well with him not to introduce himself. "Oh! Did you hear! Apparently the Hero's been summoned! Isn't that exciting?" She exclaimed.

"Uh… sure." Ichigo replied awkwardly.

* * *

**Character List:**

**Yasaka (Highschool DxD)**

**Navi (Dragonar Academy)**

**Oogway (Kung Fu Panda)**

**Zero (Grimoire of Zero) with added feline features.**

**Ino (No Game No Life)**

**Asterio (12 Beast)**

**Sylvie (How Not To Summon a Demon Lord)**


End file.
